The present invention relates in general to motor vehicle seals.
More specifically the invention relates to a seal for positioning between the edge of an opening in the body of a vehicle and an associated door movable between an open position and a closed position.
Application FR 2,607,216 describes a seal of this type in which the wall of the tubular sealing profile is provided with inner longitudinal grooves having the function of allowing this sealing profile to be easily collapsed in such a way that it nevertheless has an aesthetically acceptable appearance, by means of suction of the air contained inside it, via a pump, when the door is open. Said sealing profile is then inflated again after the door has been closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,457,543 B1 describes a seal with a sealing profile which is likewise provided with inner longitudinal grooves.
The application EP 0,115,750 A1 describes an extruded elastomer seal, the tubular sealing profile of which has a greater wall thickness in the seal portions intended to be engaged with corner portions of the edge of the corresponding motor vehicle opening, in order to solve the sealing problems and correct the aesthetic appearance of the sealing profile in these corner portions.
The application FR-2,862,574-A describes a similar motor vehicle seal in which, in order to reduce the transmission, to the passenger compartment, of low-frequency noise generated by the chassis, the wall thickness of the sealing profile is locally increased only at the ends of the top section of the opening in the vehicle body and is also reduced in the intermediate portion between said ends.
The application EP 0,407,364 A1 discloses an extruded seal in which the tubular sealing profile has a wall thickness which is essentially constant along the entire length of the seal, although it has a larger cross-section in critical portions of the edge of the corresponding opening of the motor vehicle body.
One object of the present invention is to propose an innovative solution which allows variation in the resistance of the sealing profile to compression thereof, so as to allow better distribution of this resistance along the edge of the motor vehicle opening.